Luvofthegame
09-05-2006, 10:32 PM
By Tim Kawakami
Mercury News Sports Columnist
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Barry Bonds surged to 730 career home runs last night, a sign that 756 is inevitable.
Bonds' home runs fuel Giants' victory
Griffey, 36, understands Bonds' battles with age
Short-attention-span reading, and writing . . .
It's a remarkable reverse Corleone: Just when we thought he was out, Barry Bonds pulls himself back in.
I'm not saying this is good for the game or the Giants in the long term, however this bizarre season turns out. I'm not saying Bonds' recent hot streak has changed my mind -- or should change yours -- about his status as a moral and ethical nightmare.
But Bonds, that stubborn migraine, is back into play as a legitimate power hitter, amplifying it Monday with a crucial eighth-inning home run in Cincinnati, his third in three days and fifth in six games.
So he's back on pace to take down Hank Aaron's career homers record by late 2007 or early 2008. He's just back.
And, yes, after being written off as a goner once October came, Bonds, at 42, is back as the Giants' neon-lit No. 1 question and quandary: Oh jeez, will they bring Bonds back in 2007?
• I still vote ``no,'' and my vote never counts, especially in Peter Magowan's office.
Brian Sabean and his lieutenants probably lean toward the ``no'' side. But they don't have much say, less if Bonds' surge to 730 career home runs (22 this year) is a sign that 756 is inevitable and that he remains the Giants' top power source.
• I can stipulate that, assuming he remains not-indicted and not-suspended before spring training, Bonds has some value; he might still be a good hitter in 2007, and the Giants need decent hitters.
But it was wrong to build around Bonds with old players and an old manager, and it would be wrong to do it again in 2007. If he needs to have Felipe Alou, Moises Alou, Ray Durham, Steve Finley, Jason Schmidt, Steve Kline and Armando Benitez featured around him, then, sorry Barry, head elsewhere.
• That's the other point: There may be no elsewhere for Bonds. The Giants could be his only option. So they can be fair -- offer $8 million plus incentives -- but they don't have to baby him anymore.
If Bonds finds a team that will shower him with money and is ready to baby him, the Giants say: We tried, we were fair, he decided to leave. And if Bonds comes back, I'd be curious to see what he's like when he isn't being treated like a clubhouse deity.
So Bonds either accepts rebuilding every speck of the roster except left field for 2007 or he moves on. I don't think he'll move on.
Coincidence? Bonds' homer spree comes just as Philadelphia's Ryan Howard is making a goliath move to threaten Roger Maris' single-season record for non-tainted home runs. Howard hit No. 53 Monday. Maris' record is 61. Man, what could've been.
Mercury News Sports Columnist
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Barry Bonds surged to 730 career home runs last night, a sign that 756 is inevitable.
Bonds' home runs fuel Giants' victory
Griffey, 36, understands Bonds' battles with age
Short-attention-span reading, and writing . . .
It's a remarkable reverse Corleone: Just when we thought he was out, Barry Bonds pulls himself back in.
I'm not saying this is good for the game or the Giants in the long term, however this bizarre season turns out. I'm not saying Bonds' recent hot streak has changed my mind -- or should change yours -- about his status as a moral and ethical nightmare.
But Bonds, that stubborn migraine, is back into play as a legitimate power hitter, amplifying it Monday with a crucial eighth-inning home run in Cincinnati, his third in three days and fifth in six games.
So he's back on pace to take down Hank Aaron's career homers record by late 2007 or early 2008. He's just back.
And, yes, after being written off as a goner once October came, Bonds, at 42, is back as the Giants' neon-lit No. 1 question and quandary: Oh jeez, will they bring Bonds back in 2007?
• I still vote ``no,'' and my vote never counts, especially in Peter Magowan's office.
Brian Sabean and his lieutenants probably lean toward the ``no'' side. But they don't have much say, less if Bonds' surge to 730 career home runs (22 this year) is a sign that 756 is inevitable and that he remains the Giants' top power source.
• I can stipulate that, assuming he remains not-indicted and not-suspended before spring training, Bonds has some value; he might still be a good hitter in 2007, and the Giants need decent hitters.
But it was wrong to build around Bonds with old players and an old manager, and it would be wrong to do it again in 2007. If he needs to have Felipe Alou, Moises Alou, Ray Durham, Steve Finley, Jason Schmidt, Steve Kline and Armando Benitez featured around him, then, sorry Barry, head elsewhere.
• That's the other point: There may be no elsewhere for Bonds. The Giants could be his only option. So they can be fair -- offer $8 million plus incentives -- but they don't have to baby him anymore.
If Bonds finds a team that will shower him with money and is ready to baby him, the Giants say: We tried, we were fair, he decided to leave. And if Bonds comes back, I'd be curious to see what he's like when he isn't being treated like a clubhouse deity.
So Bonds either accepts rebuilding every speck of the roster except left field for 2007 or he moves on. I don't think he'll move on.
Coincidence? Bonds' homer spree comes just as Philadelphia's Ryan Howard is making a goliath move to threaten Roger Maris' single-season record for non-tainted home runs. Howard hit No. 53 Monday. Maris' record is 61. Man, what could've been.